Automotive Adventures

Before leaving Raleigh, McMoose visited several websites that were apparently aimed towards the Paranoid World Traveler, because he kept coming up with tremendously useful pieces of information like, "Taxi drivers in India kidnap tourists, steal their money, shave their hair, and then throw them into crocodile infested swamps." So he was understandably skeptical when I suggested riding in an "auto," which is roughly the equivalent of a covered go-cart that can be hired to drive passengers around the city.

However, I had my way today, as I often do, and we RODE! AN! AUTO! It was very much like riding a roller coaster, except that instead of going up and down hills on a track, we went around every curve in the city at what seemed like a break-neck speed, but was actually about 10 miles per hour. I was perfectly confident that we wouldn't be kidnapped and fed to crocodiles, although if we had, it would've been a pretty interesting story.

So here's something I didn't know about auto drivers: They're commissioned by certain touristy stores around the city to find them customers. So our driver completely ignored us when we told him to TAKE US HOME and instead, took us to a furniture store at the other end of town. At which point I began to wish that I had paid more attention to McMoose and his crazy paranoia because...well...it was kinda like a kidnapping. And if we could be taken to random furniture stores against our will, we could probably be tossed to crocodiles against our will too, right?

As it turned out, he DID NOT shave our hair OR toss us to crocodiles. He DID, however, make mean and grouchy faces in the rear view mirror and drive a little bit more recklessly on the way back, and really? That's all the excitement I need in my life.